I am pretty sure the 785G's still can't do 7.1 LPCM over HDMI. You would be better to stick w/ the G31 board and a dedicated ATI videocard.

Not sure, but it is based off the DX10, HD4xxx series though. So I don't see why it wouldn't.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy

I added the heat sink quickly, as I built a budget office system last week, with the same board I'm using here, with an E6400 and stock cooler, and god damn it was loud. It could just be a faulty fan, but I'd rather not take the risk, nor do I want to have to re order later and pay for shipping again.

ARGH! So it's 2AM and I'm reading HTPC reviews on the 4350/4550 cards, and it looks like this is the way to go. I'm slightly worried about the passive cooling on some of these, as I imagine the enclosed space of an HTPC will get mighty hot. Looks like I've got tons more research to do.

I tried the stock E5200 heatsink (45nm, thus the slim design), and two 65nm ones off a E6600 and E6420. They were all pretty darn quiet, near silent. Maybe you just got a dud...I don't know.

AMD ones are usually on the louder side though, so that might need replacing, however I only have 939 ones. Not sure what the AM2/AM3 ones are like...

As for the GPU, I have the Gigabyte HD4350. It has a small fan on it which is silent. Only becomes audible if you crank it to 100%, and even still, the 60mm fans in my Silverstone case drown it out. My whole setup definitely isn't silent, but I also have a bunch of 80mm GELID fans in my TV cabinet to keep things ventilated.